Improvement in coking coal and desulphurizing the coke



To `all-whom "it mag/:concern:

air cannot be l`force LEVISTEVENS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

' i lMFRovE-'MENT .IN 'come com. AND DEs'uLPHumzlNc THE COKE.

-Specificationfoi'ining part of Letters Patent No. 196,714, datedOctober 30, 1877; application led s .v A, i i `October 15, 1877'.

Beit known that r, L-vrsmvmvs, of Washington, District. of Columbia,havey invented anlmproved Processfor Coking Coal and Desulph'urizingCoke; L and I do hereby declare that-the 'following` `description andaccompaffnyin drawing are sufficient to enable vany person skilledint-the art or science 1towhich it mostnearly appertains to make and usemy said inventionwithout further invention or experiment. 'f

' In coking'certain coals-as, .for example, a

- large portion ofithecoal found in the `State Aof t Illinois-the col111er'g-jtvofore produced'by any `ordinary mcthodis of such iable naturethat if usedlfor., metallurgie purposeslin furnaces,

,j it cannot' s ustainfthejweight of j, the charge` powdenf throughwhichi uniformly, and only iinperfect combustionfis producede-'-v Thesecoals also containan, amount of sulphur l that must be removed beforethey can be used .successfully in blastfurnaces. y e, f My inventionrelates to an improved method of coking said Y coals and othersulphurous 7 coals. i

Myginventi'on consistsin passing the entire volune lof thegases fromcafresh charge of coal whilecokingin kone chamber into and Q through ahighlyfheated body of coke 'contained in another chamber, resulting froma previous `charge of coal, wherebysaid coke takes up `carbon from thegases, retains the same, and is thereby rendered` iirmand compact,l thechambers being alternately charged and discharged, and the course vofthe gases being reversed. y

4 My invention yfurther consists in introducing lsteaml at,l about*1,0000 Fahrenheitinto theovensjor chambers for a certain length of timeafterlthe coalgis coked,v for the purpose of desulphuriz'ingthe same.

' I amvaware thatcoke-ovens havebeen constructed in ysuch amanner thatthe burning gases on top of the coal heated it downward7 A and as thegases fromthe coal below were eX- pelled some portions of them werearrested Vand deposited inthe heated coke above. My lmethod differs fromthis, in that I pass the whole volume of gases expelled from one entirecharge through the mass of coke in anadl'joining oven, the coke thereinbeing highly "..sulphur from a heavy sulphurous coal is expelled. Toovercome this reduction of heat in the coke, I have found it necessaryto heat the steam before it comes in contact with the t, Icoke to about1,0000 Fahrenheit. With steam at this temperature the heat of the cokeis but slightly, if any, reduced.

Referring to the accompanying drawing for a more complete explanation ofmy invention, the drawing represents, in perspective, and partly insection, two ovens built together to economize material and to utilizeheat to the best advantage.

In coking coal that contains a large percentage of volatile hydrocarbonsit is necessary to sustain a high temperature in the ovens, and toconstruct them with separate chambers that are charged alternately withcoal in such a manner that one of the chambers-namely, the onecontaining the coke-is kept charged and at a high temperature, wherebythe coke therein is kept in a condition to receive the deposit of richcarbon gas from theY cinI/J the next chamber.A By this means the carbonfrom the volatile products of the coal in the adjoining chamber isarrested and deposited onA the coke, improving it in /quantity andquality.

A A represent two chambers; Bfte partiand is perforated with holescorresponding to holes H in partition-wall B.

The operation is as follows: The chamber A being charged with coal thatbecomes' heated, the gases pass through the perforated wall B into thechamber A (the damper C being raised and the damper C closed) and heatit, and then pass through the iue shown at G, controlled by the damperC, into the ue E, at the point where air is admitted through the openingF to burn said gases. They then pass around the ovens, as indicated bythe arrows, to the main flue M, through a iue controlled by the damperD', and escape to the chimney. After the chamber A' has been inoperation for about twelve hours, the chamber A is charged with coalthrough the opening L, the dampers C and D are closed, and dampers C andD are opened, changing the course of the gases from the chamber A to A',where the coke therein receives the deposit of carbon until steam isadmitted to desulphurize said coke, and it is then discharged, leavingthe chamber-A ready for a new charge of coal, when the position of thedampers is again reversed, and brought to the position shown in thedrawings.

After the coal is thoroughly coked, as stated above, and for about anhour before it is discharged, I introduce steam heated to about 1,0000Fahrenheit into the pipe I, from superheaters set in a separate furnace,patented January 20, 1873. The temperature of the coke being about1,8000 Fahrenheit, the introduction of steam at this high temperaturewill not reduce the temperature of the coke very materially. Steam underthese conditions is readily decomposed, furnishing hydrogen and oxygen,that readily combine with the sulphur and carry it olf. The ovens can bearranged in many ways so that two of them can be made to operatetogether. The gases can also be introduced in various ways and producesimilar results without departing from the nature of my invention. Anydevice that will cause the gases from either oven, when charged withcoal, to pass through a corresponding oven that has been charged asufficient length of time for the gases of the coal to be expelled, thecoke therein contained being heated to incandescence, will produce thedesired result of arresting in the coke a large percentage of the richcarbon gases that would-otherwise be lost, and rendering it heavier andmore compact thlan now produced by any ordinary modes of co mg. Y-

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. Theherein-described process ofwcogking coal, which consists in assing thegases evolved from the coking coll contained in one chamber into andthrough the coke containedv in an adjoining chamber, produced from aprevious charge, and kept at a high temperature, whereby said coke takesup carbon from the hydrocarbon gases of the coking coal, and is therebyrendered compact land iirm, in the manner substantially as described.

2. The process of coking and desulphurizing coal, which consistsinpassingthe gases from the coking-chamber into highly-heated cokecontained in an adjoiningchamber and subsequently passing' steamheatedto about 1,0000 Fahrenheit into said highly-heated coke,

whereby the latter is desulphurized, substantially as described. y

LEVI STEVENS. Witnesses:

JN0. D. PATTEN, A. MOORE.

